This invention relates to vehicles of the motor home type and more particularly to motor home bodies and their attachment to the suspended frame of a vehicle.
Vehicle bodies for recreational vehicles such as motor homes typically are made of panels that are attached to a floor assembly which in turn is fastened to the subframe that is cushioned relative to the mainframe of the vehicle. The fastening means for bodies and panels of bodies typically are mechanical fasteners. Some of such fasteners usually are visible at the exterior of the vehicle and no matter how carefully arranged, are unattractive. Attempts to conceal such fasteners with decorative trim strips and covering panels require additional expense and cost and in the end are a possible point of early deterioration requiring maintenance and repair.
Some attempts have been made to conceal the fastening system by mounting members on the interior of body members by using resin and fiberglass tape or cloth acting through perforations in the mounting members to join with the body portions. Such attempts, however, have not been satisfactory because unless great care is used the connection is made with resin alone without the benefit of fiberglass reinforcement.
It is desirable in the manufacture of motor homes to have a mounting system to facilitate the attachment of a unitized body to a vehicle so that the fasteners are concealed and do not mar the exterior apperance or form a weak point for deterioration of the vehicle.
It is an object of the invention to provide a support structure method of attaching a unitized body structure to the suspended floor of a motor vehicle.
Another object is to provide a mounting structure and method of attaching a unitized body to a partially completed vehicle in which the fastening means are concealed from the exterior of the vehicle.
Still another object is to provide a mounting structure for joining a body to a vehicle which is reliable and easy to use.
The objects of the invention are attained by having a motor home vehicle with a vehicle portion including a frame suspended from ground engaging wheels and having a vehicle cab with an open rearward end portion and a floor extending rearwardly from the cab to receive a body portion. The body portion is a unit of fiberglass reinforced resin having an open forward portion for joining to the cab at its open rearward end portion and an open bottom portion to cover the floor extending from the cab. The body and vehicle are joined together by mounting members having vertically and horizontally extending portions for engaging the interior surface of the body and the top surface of the floor, respectively. The vertically extending portions are attached permanently to the interior body surface with an adhesive and more particularly a methacrylate adhesive and the horizontally extending portions are attached to the top surface of the floor by a plurality of mechanical fasteners which are not visible from the exterior of the body.